British mobile network operator (MNO) Three UK has issued a network update, revealing that it now has 1,250 5G sites in operation across 193 towns and cities, up from around 1,000 at the end of 2020. Further, it expects ‘hundreds more sites’ to come online before the end of 2021 and also notes that its 5G home broadband services now covers 1.6 million premises.
With regards to 4G connectivity, meanwhile, Three UK said this has been enhanced via the addition of 20MHz of 1400MHz to 1,500 sites in its portfolio, which it hopes will increase downlink speed by ‘up to three times’. The MNO claims that the addition of the extra spectrum means that the capacity of its 4G network on the sites where it has been deployed, has been doubled; around four million subscribers with a 1400MHz band capable device will benefit from the speed improvement when connecting to a site with the technology. More sites are expected to go live with 1400MHz spectrum throughout 2021.
Rounding out its infrastructure update, Three UK has also revealed that it has upgraded 3,200 sites with 10Gbps transmission, which it claimed represented a 20-fold increase in backhaul capacity, which will improve both 4G and 5G speeds.